A recent case involving Lowell Portfolio I Limited shows the importance of checking your dates for limitation purposes.
In this case, a default notice had been served in 2008, there was no copy of the notice available from the creditor, and it wasn’t necessary at that stage to ask the customer to find the Default notice as there were no issues relating to the validity of the notice. It was accepted by both sides a notice had been served in 2008.
The 6 year limitation period would have ended in 2014, and in 2013 a request was made under s78(1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 to which the original creditor confirmed it could not comply with. That was the point where all communication ceased and no further payments were made.
Lowell’s purchased the debt, and decided to try and enforce it against the customer some 9 years after limitation had expired. It would seem they overlooked the issue of limitation, unsurprising given the sausage factory approach they employ to debt recovery.
A letter to Lowells pointing out the obvious difficulties in their case was enough to bring the matter to a close.